Strategic Change in Stance of Nagas of Manipur

For more than a year of silent observation in the aftermath of 3rd May 2023 conflict between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo tribes, Nagas led by student organisations have come out in the open to stop Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO) from holding a rally in the districts of Ukhrul (including Kamjong), Senapati, Chandel and Tamenglong (including Noney) on 31st August 2024. Better sense prevailed as the advice was heeded by the KSO et al and a confrontation was averted when no rally was held in Naga districts other than Kangpokpi town. This shift in strategy of Nagas of Manipur to advice Kukis against holding protest connected to their demand for a separate administration in lands of Nagas is significant and signals a strategic change in the relationship between Nagas and Kukis tribes of Manipur.

History shows that sizeable numbers of Kukis migrated into Manipur in the first half of the eighteenth century, affecting the areas occupied by Kabuis. Wherever Kukis set up their village, nearby Kabui villages were attacked and chased away. The Kukis in Chassad area started migrating to land of Tangkhuls only after 1878 which falls during the period when Manipur was a protectorate of British East India Company in 1824 and a princely state of British Raj from 1891 onwards. The Kukis were used by both Manipur Maharaj and British colonialist as irregular levies and were issued firearms. They were allowed to terrorise, suppress, impose punitive fine and subjugate other tribes. History also reveals that when Naga villages were most vulnerable during 1917-1919, as their warriors were enlisted in the Labour Corps in World War 1 efforts in Europe, rebel Kuki irregular levies pillaged, murdered men and took women and children as slaves. Thereafter, there was the Naga-Kuki conflict in the 1990s with casualties and losses of properties on both sides. In short, the acrimonious relationship between the Nagas and Kukis in the past carries an imminent risk of old wounds opening up if the Kuki-Zo tribes involve lands of Manipur Nagas in their protest and political demand amounting to tacitly claiming for its inclusion in the settlement pursued with the Central government.

The message conveyed by four Naga student organisations of Ukhrul (including Kamjong), Tamenglong, Chandel and Senapati districts to the KSO in connection with the proposed rally on 31st August 2024 can be termed as cautionary not to indulge in any politics remotely related to the lands of Nagas. These are very difficult times for Manipur and all parties concerned should tread cautiously over issues connected to lands in the “Hill Areas”. The Nagas have been watching the situation and they appear to be gradually realising that, inspite of their shared religious affinity with the Kuki-Zo, their immediate rival as far as land is concerned is the Kuki tribe. Care should be taken by both parties to prevent old wounds from opening up between the Naga and Kuki tribes.